Despite the fact that John McAfee sold his share in the company he created back in 1994 with Intel purchasing everything in 2010 for $7.86 billion, the chip maker has continued to use the McAfee brand for the software suite... until now. CEO Brian Krzanich casually revealed as much during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show.
An Intel spokesperson told PCMag that as new products are introduced, the McAfee brand will be phased out and replaced with the Intel Security brand. The shield logo, which is said to represent the core values of security and protection, will remain. The software will remain unchanged moving forward.
The company also plans to make some of its mobile components free to use on Android and iOS devices although Intel stopped short of revealing exactly which features would become free. We're told the rebranding effort will begin immediately although the transition could take up to a year to complete.
Intel didn't give a specific reason as to why they were rebranding the security suite but given founder John McAfee's recent antics, it isn't much of a surprise.
The reclusive millionaire was named a person of interest in the shooting death of 52-year-old American expatriate Gregory Faull, a neighbor of McAfee's, back in 2012. He soon fled to Guatemala but was eventually arrested and was deported back to the US in December of the same year. He is said to be currently living in Oregon.